Claudio Ranieri insists Sunday’s Derby d’Italia is “more important for Juventus than Inter, so they have more to lose.”

Going into the weekend there are 15 points separating them in the Serie A standings, as the Nerazzurri are increasingly unlikely to qualify for Europe.

“In this situation, the game is more important for Juventus than Inter, so they have more to lose,” said the Coach.

“With a defeat, Juve would see Milan break even further away at the top of the table. They are also afraid that Inter can be the first team to beat them this season. It’s a derby, I know, having been on the other side and realising full well what this game means.”

Ranieri finished in second place at Juve, then was fired two weeks before the end of the next campaign.

“I took over a side that was coming up from Serie B and lacked many champions. In the last four or five years everything has changed, as they are building a new project, the philosophy and above all the budget have been totally transformed.

“Am I disappointed at not continuing in Turin? We all have our karma, our story, and I always reconstructed wherever I went, but never bowed to compromises.

“The reason I left was there were three of us choosing players. At the moment I was excluded from decisions, then I walked away.”

Ranieri took over from Gian Piero Gasperini just a few weeks into the campaign. The run of two points from nine official games has been ended and he sees improvements.

“In recent outings we’ve seemed less weighed down, managing to win or draw. Now we are ready to face this Juventus, a side that are doing very well.

“It’s not true that we have nothing to lose, though. You always want to win a big game and, although Juve run the biggest risks, I would’ve preferred to be in their shoes. As President Massimo Moratti said, we hope tomorrow’s game can be the spark for us to do well for the rest of the season.”